Ragi-Harvest and storage

Ragi takes around 3-5 months to reach harvesting stage. The crop does not mature uniformly and hence the harvest is to be done in two stages.

The first stage of harvest is when 50% of the ear heads on the crop turn brown. At this stage only the ear heads that have turned brown are harvested.

Seven days after the first harvest, all the ear heads including the green ones are harvested. The stalks are allowed to wither for a day or two in field.

To separate the grains, dried earheads are beaten with sticks. Other methods include; sheaves are trodden by bullocks or crushed by stone rollers. Separated grains are winnowed and cleaned.